Before the Pearl Harbor attack, part of Japan's plan was to send tourists to Hawaii to map out where the battleship berths were, where the airfields were etc. etc. and know the whole military layout. From this and other means they were able to build a mock copy of Pearl Harbor and so plan how to attack and do the most damage. Obviously they were successful.
Guess what? Just recently several Chinese tourists (one of Ma's supposed ways of boosting the economy) were caught and expelled from Hualien Air Force Base during a military show. Many of Taiwan's weapons systems were on display at the base which was open to the Taiwanese public, but not to Chinese tourists. And believe it or not, the Chinese tourists were taking pictures, surprise, surprise. I guess all tourists go to a country to check out their air bases.
Fortunately some of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) eventually spotted them and escorted them off the premises but that left a lot of questions. Is this a part of Ma's "we are making great progress in Cross-Strait Relations" game plan? A bit hard to take when an ROC General recently visiting China said "we are all one Chinese Army." Can we expect Chinese tourists to have tea and play mahjong at ROC military bases, as Jason Hu's police play with gangsters in Taichung?
Can you imagine how many years in prison anyone with a camera, let alone taking pictures, near a military base in China would get?
But the final kicker came later when a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) official tried to defend Ma's lax policies and lax leadership. "Its no big deal, the public could visit the base." I guess that the next privilege given to Chinese tourists is that they will get citizenship and be able to use the Medical system at the same cost as citizens. Maybe they will even be able to join the ROC military since it is all one Chinese Army. In the KMT's eyes, it is no big deal right?
No attack may be imminent, but it does make one wonder.
Source: Jerome F. Keating's writings
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